Baling-press feeder and packer.



N0. ,786,878 f EATENTEE 151,111.11, 1905.v

' E. CHRISTOPH-EE.

, EALING EEEss EEEEEE AND EAGKEE.

APPLIOATION FILED JUNEVZB. 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2. v

Witnesses f Inverntor l Httomegs' Y UNITED STATES Patented April 11, 1905.v

PATENT OFFICE.

OF ONE-FOURTH TO COLEMAN R. CHRISTOPHER, ONE-FOURTH TO4 WILLIAM L. CHRISTOPHER, AND ONE-FOURTH TO DAN. E. CHRISTO- PHER, OF LONE WOLF, OKLAHOMA TERRITORY.

BALING-PRESS FEEDER AND PACKER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 786,873, dated April 11, 1905. Application filed June 29, 1904. Serial. No. 214.692.

To all whom, zit' nca/y concern:

Be it known that I, GILEs CHRISTOPHER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lone Wolf, in the county of Kiowa, Oklahoma Ter- 5 ritory, have invented a new and useful Baling- Press Feeder and Packer, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to machines or devices for feeding material to cotton and other IO baling-presses and for packing or tramping the same in the press-box prior to final compression. v

The invention has for its object to effect an even and automatic feed and supply of the material to be compressedjand also to effect vertical reciprocation of a plunger, whereby the material fed shall be tramped and vcompacted within the press-box prior to final compression. v

With these and other ends in view, which will readily appear as the nature of the invention is betterunderstood, thesame consists in the improved construction and novel arrangement and combination of parts, which will be hereinafter fully described,` and particularlyV pointed out in theclaims.

In the accompanying drawings has been illustrated a simple and preferred form of em bodiment of the invention, it being, however,

3 understood that no limitation is necessarily made to the precise structural details thereinl exhibited, butthat the rightfi-s reserved to any changes, alterations, and modifications which come fairly within the scope o f the invention and which may be resortedto without departing from the spirit or'sacriiicing the eliiciency of the same. l

In said drawings, Figure 1 is a general side elevation, partly in section, of amachine con- 40 structed in accordance with the principles of the invention. Fig. 2'is a detailview of the spring-actuated cam whereby the valve mechanism is operated. Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation taken on the line 3 3 in Fig. 1. Fig. f1

is alongitudinal vertical sectional view of the feeder. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of a portion of one of the feeder-slats, showing one of the spring-actuated teeth.

Corresponding parts in the several figures are indicated by similar numerals of reference. f

My invention is specially applicable to socalled double presses, in which material is fed into one press-box while the bale in the other press boX is composed, compressed, tied, and ejected. In the accompanying drawings, however, I have shown the invention applied to a single press-box only, inasmuch as the compressing means and the means for shifting ther position of the press-boxes are no part of the invention.

- In thepresent embodiment of the invention a platform 1 is disposed above a packingchamberv 2, beneath which the press-box 3 is located. Directly above the packing-chambei?. the platform 1 supports a cylinder 4, in which reciprocates a piston 5, having a stem 6, carrying a plunger or packer head 7, adapted to reciprocate within'the packing-chamber and the upper end of the press-box. The

packer-head may be provided with an upwardly-extending plate 8, adapted to form a closure for the feeder 9, which is connected, as shown, with one side of the packing-chamber.

Supported upon the platform 1 adjacent to the cylinder 4 is a frame 10, having bearings for several shafts. One of these shafts, 11,

carries a drum or pulley 12, which receives v motion `by means of a belt or band 13 from a line-shaft. (Not shown.) The shaft 11 also carries a pinion 14, meshing with aspnr-wheel 15 upon a shaft 16, disposed below the shaft 11. The frame 11 is erected upon a massive base 17, which is provid ed with a slot or which may be otherwise constructed to support a pivotally-mounted cam 18, the operative face of which is forced in the direction of pins 19,

mounted in thefaceof the .spur-wheel, by the action of a spring 20, coiled nipona link-rod 21, which is connected {pivotally with an arm 22, extending downwardly from' the lower pivoted end of-the cam and having at its gio outer end abutton 23, against which the outer end of the coiled spring 2O presses. The inner end of said spring presses against the base- 17, thus causing the spring to exercise pressure in the proper direction. The piston within the cylinder may be operated by any desired fluid-pressure. In the accompanying drawings has been illustrated, a valve-casing 24, from which pipes 25 and 26 are led, communicating', respectively, with the lower end and the upper end of the cylinder. The valvecasing is also provided with a iuid-inlet 27 and with an exhaust 28. ithin the valvecasing 24 is mounted a rotary controllingvalve 29, provided with arcuate ports 30 and 31. In one position of the valve the port 3() establishes communication between the fluidinlet 27 and the pipe 26, which supplies fluid tothe upper portion of the cylinder, while the port 31 establishes communication between the pipe 25, connecting withthe lower portion 'of the cylinder, and the exhaust. When the position of the valve is shifted, the upper end of the cylinder will be connected, through the port 30, with the exhaust, while the lower end of the cylinder willbe connected, through the port 31, with lthe Huid-inlet. It is thus obvious that by partially rotating the valve to the extent of only one-fourth of a revolution the motive liuid will be alternately supplied to and exhausted from each end of the cylinder, thus driving the piston in opposite directions to reciprocate the packer-head 7.

The valve29 is provided with an operatingstem 32, one end of which is connected by a link-rod 33 with the free end of the cam member 18. rlhe operative face or edge of the latter is composed of an approximately-semicircular depression 33l near the lower end thereof, the upper edge of said depression terminating in the apex 34, from which wavelike depressions 35 recede in the direction of the point or upper extremity 36 of the cam.

The pins 19, whereby the cam is actuated, are screwed into the face of the spur-wheel 15, near the rim of the latter, and said pins will successively engage the operative face of the cam, thereby throwing the latter against the tension of the spring 20, so as to cause the valve to be opened, thereby meaning that when the upper end of the cylinder is placed in communication with the fluid -inlet the opening of the valve is effected suddenly and swiftly by reason of one of the pins contacting with the upper Wall of the recess 33', thereby quickly throwing the cam in the direction indicated by an arrow A in Fig. 1. As the rotation of the spur-wheel 15 proceeds the pin will gradually pass from the wave-like depressions 35 of the cam and finally out of contact with the latter, the cam being thus gradually restored to its normal position and the reversal of the valve being thus effected gradually and comparatively slowly. The operation of the packer is thereby rendered more effective, since the material packed within the press-box will not be permitted to rebound suddenly while the packer-head gradually recedes from the press-box.

The feeder-casing 9, which is connected, as described, with one side of the packing-chamber, contains an endless carrier 37, which may consist of chains 38, connected by slats 3), said chains being mounted upon sprocketwheels 40upon shafts 41 and 42 near the upper and lower ends of the feed er-easing. Motion may be transmitted to the shaft 42 from the shaft 16 by means of a suitably-mounted shaft 43, connected with the shafts 16 and 42 by miter-gearing 43' 44. The slats 39 of the feeder are provided with staples 45, with which are pivotally connected teeth 46, which are normally held in an upright direction by means of a suitably-disposed spring 47. At the discharge end of the feeder-casing is arranged a strippii'ig-rod 4S, by contact with which the spring supported teeth will be caused to swing, being thus stripped of the material, which is conveyed by the carrier to the packing-chamber. The feeder-casing may be suitably connected with any source of supplymsuch as, for instance, the condenser of a cotton-gin.

The operation of this invention and its advantages will be readily understood from the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawings hereto annexed. \Vhen the machine is in operation, the controllingvalveis normally in what I term a closed position-i. e., in a position in which the upper end of the cylinder is open to the exhaust While the lower end of the cylinder is connected with a source of Huid-suppl y, thereby retaining the piston and the packer-head in a raised position. The feeder is continuously operated by the means herein described. /Vhen one of the pins 19 comes into contact with the operative face of the valve-actuating cam, the latter will be moved very slowly until the upper portion of the recess 33 is reached, when it will be suddenly and swiftly thrown to a position in which the valve will be reversed or shifted to an open position, when the lower portion of the cylinder will be connected with the exhaust, while its upper portion will be connected with the source of Huid-supply, thereby causing the piston and the packerhead to descend. As the packer-head descends the plate 8 will cut olf the supply from the feeder-casing, so that no material will be fed above the packer-head. As soon as the operating-pin passes over the wave-like depressions 35 and out of the contact with-the cam the latter will be restored by the spring 2O to its normal position, the valve will be shifted,and the piston and packerhead will ascend and remain supported in a raised position until the cam 18 is again actuated.

By using a spur-wheel 15 of proper diame- TOO to progress evenly and at the desired rate of speed the necessary amount of materialv to make a bale may be supplied to the press-box during a single rotation of the said spurwheel, and the latter may of course be pro-v vided with any desired number of pins, so

that the earn shall be actuated any desired number of times for the purpose of effecting the tramping of the material within the pressbox as often as may be necessary. In such l' case I may elect to space the pins 19 differently and progressively from the rim of the wheel 15, the first pin Vin the cycle being nearest the axis of the shaft 16, while the remaining pins 'are gradually set outward toward the rim of the wheel. The effect of this arrangement will be to causev the valve at first to be only partially oscillated, thus partly obstructing the passage of the motive fluid, and consequently causing the packer-head to be operated under a less degree of pressure while the press-box is comparatively empty. As the operation progresses, however, the valve will gradually be opened more Widely until at the end of the operation, when the press-box is full, the piston and packer-head will be operated under a maximum degree of pressure. In Fig'. l of the drawings I have shown the actuating-pins 19 thus set at different distances from the rim of thewheel. It is to be understood, however, that the proportions may be changed and that a larger number of pins may be used to cause the valve to be operated with the necessary frequency.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed isi 1. In a device of the class described, apressbox, a fluid-operated packer, a controllingvalve, a press-feeder, a driven shaft, means for transmitting motion from the latter to the feeder, a wheel upon said driven shaft, pins extending from the face of said wheel, a c am disposed in the path of said pins, and a link connecting said cam with the stem of the controlling-valve.

2. Ina device of the class described, a pressbox, a Huid-operated packer, a controllingvalve, a press-feeder, a driven shaft, means for transmitting motion from the latter to the feeder, a disk upon said 4driven shaft having pins projecting from the face thereof, a springactuated cam disposed in the path of said pins, and a link connecting Isaid cam with the stem of the controlling-valve.

3. In a device of the class described, a pressbox, a fluid-operated packer, a controllingvalve, a press-feeder, a driven shaft, means for transmitting motion from the latter to the feeder, a disk upon the driven shaft, pins Y projecting from the face of said disk and progressively spaced from the rim of the latter, and a valve-operating cam disposed in the path of said pins.

4. In a device of the class described, a pressbox, a fluid-operated packer, a controllingvalve, a press-feeder, a drivenshaft, means for transmitting motion from the latter to the feeder, a disk upon the driven shaft, pins projecting from the face of said disk, a valveoperating cam disposed in the path of said pins and having an approximately semicircular recess terminating in an apex and wavelike depressions extending from said apex to the point of the cam, and means for forcingl said cam in the direction of the operatingpins. A

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto afxed my signature 1n the presence of two witnesses.

GILES CHRISTOPHER.

Witnesses:

En. DYE, E. B. RULE. 

